TechCrunch: ProducePay raises $77 million in debt and equity to revolutionize farm financing

When Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck was growing up he always loved the work he saw going on around his family’s farm. But without the aptitude for it, Schwarzbeck chose to go the business school route. Now, with his Los Angeles-based startup Produce Pay Schwarzbeck says he’s giving back to the communities that nurtured him.

His company has just raised $77 million in equity and debt to provide financing to farmers of perishable goods. While there are all sorts of financial instruments for certain types of farmland — including billion-dollar investment funds for timberland, and certain kinds of non-perishable crops — most fruits and vegetables aren’t considered good prospects for loans.